DEC 16 -- NEW HAVEN, CT -- Steven W. Derr, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for New England, and David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Darius McGee, also known as “D” and “D Smooth,” 38, of Henry Street, Stamford, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 120 months of imprisonment, followed by eight years of supervised release, for distributing crack cocaine. On June 11, 2010, McGee pled guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”).

This matter stems from “Operation Big Loot,” a six-month investigation that was spearheaded by DEA, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Stamford Police Department’s Narcotics and Organized Crime Squad. As a result of the investigation, a total of 52 individuals have been charged in state and federal court with various narcotics offenses related to the distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine in the greater Stamford area. During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized approximately $165,000 in cash, one kilogram of cocaine, two kilograms of crack cocaine, five firearms and several vehicles.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on 28 occasions in August, September, and October 2009, McGee purchased a total of between 250 and 275 grams of crack cocaine, which he then sold in smaller quantities for profit. At the time, McGee was on federal supervised release from a prior conviction for selling crack cocaine.

On June 18, 2010, United States District Janet C. Hall in Bridgeport sentenced McGee to 24 months imprisonment for violating the terms of his supervised release. The 120-month sentence imposed today will run consecutive to that 24-month sentence.

In total, McGee has four prior convictions for selling drugs.

McGee has been detained since his arrest on December 23, 2009.

This matter was investigated by the DEA’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, which is composed of members of the Bridgeport, Stamford, Norwalk and Stratford Police Departments, and the Connecticut State Police; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Stamford Police Department’s Narcotics and Organized Crime Squad. The United States Marshals Service, the Connecticut State Police, and the Norwalk, Bridgeport, Darien, Greenwich and Danbury Police Departments assisted in the arrests of several of the defendants.